Ore reducing machine



Dec. 15, 1936.

A. D. HADSE L ORE REDUCING MACHINE Filed Nov. 18, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet l A TTORNEYS.

"Dec. 15, 1936. A. D. HADSEL 2,064,109

ORE REDUCING MACHINE Filed Nov. 18, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

ATTORNEYS.

Patented Dec. 15, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 15 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in an ore reducing machine, and its principal object is to provide a machine of the character described that is particularly efllcient in reducing ore and in separating therefrom the particles of high specific gravity commonly known as concentrates. A further object of the invention is to provide a machine that causes the ore to be reduced and the concentrates to be removed therefrom in a continuous process and at 'a great saving of labor. More particularly the present invention is a modification of the machine described in my patent application, Serial No'. 534,949, filed on May 4, 1931. l

In the latter machine the ore is elevated to a certain height in' a continuous process and I dropped upon a series of breaker plates from which the ore is discharged into a body of water where it is classified so that the lighter fines obtained from the impact are floated off while the concentrates present in the ore gravitate toward the bottom of the classification tank and may be recovered therefrom.

In the present invention a difierent means is provided for securing an impact of the ore with a series of breaker plates and the present machine further distinguishes from that described in the pending application by the provision of means for continuously removing the concentrates from the classification tank.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will appear as the specification proceeds.

The preferred form of my invention is illus-' trated in the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 shows a vertical, section through my machine on the line l--l of Figure 2;

Figure 2 a horizontal section taken along line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 a detail view of a. breaker plate mounted in elevation; and

Figure 4 a detail view of the same mounting in plan.

While I have shown only the preferred form of my invention I wish to have it understood that various changes or modifications may be made within the scope of the claims hereto attached without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Referring to the drawings in detail my invention comprises a tank I having a cylindrical upper end as shown at 2 and a frusto-conical bottom 3, and being supported by means of a number of posts 4. A plurality of radial arms 5 extend inwardly from the circumference of the tank to which they are fastened by means of suitable angle irons 6, and support a central'hub 1. The arms 5 are interconnected, near the circumference of the tank by chords 8 and the latter support a sleeve 9 in concentric relation to the tank and slightly smaller than the latter.

Within the sleeve are arranged a series of breaker plates in disposed at an angle to the radial arms for purposes hereinafter explained. These breaker plates are preferably rectangular in form and mounted in such a manner that they may be easily turned end for end or exchanged. The preferred way of mounting the breaker plates is illustrated in Figures 3 and 4 from which it appears that each breaker plate is clamped between.

a top plate II and a bottom plate l2. The top plate H is formed to fit between two arms 5 and to rest on ledges l3, projecting from the arms, while the bottom plate I2 is considerably smaller than the top plate H and is preferably made triangular in form. Onebolt l4 extends through the apex of the bottom plate, and an outer corner .01 the top plate, and a sleeve l5 surrounding the bolt holds the top and bottom plates in spaced relation, the space being such as to equal the length of the breaker plate.

Two other bolts l6 passing through the two other corners of the triangular bottom plate and corresponding points of the top plate are adapted to clamp the two plates upon the breaker plate. It will be seen that this construction allows the breaker plate mounting to be lifted out of the tank as a unit, while the breaker plate may be quickly removed and turned around or exchanged for another plate by loosening the nuts of the bolts l4 and I8 respectively. 1

The tank is formed, underneath the breaker plates, with a series of apertures I! which latter connect through conduits l8 with a trough l9 encircling the major portion of the tank, and built on a slant so as to allow overflow water to pass to the lowest point at 20 and to enter upon the launder indicated at 2!. The hub 1 supports through a thrustbearing 22 a vertical shaft 23 which latter supports, below the hub, a frustoconical body 24 by means of a spider 25. The upper end of the shaft may be suitably guided by a bearing 26 supported in arms 21 extending inwardly from the posts 4. For imparting rotary movement to the shaft I provide a pulley 28 above the bearing 22.

In operation the tank is filled with water up to the apertures I! and ore is fed into the tank through the hopper 29. Water is added during the operation so as to maintain a steady overflow. It will be noted that the sleeve 9 extends below the water level while the frusto-conical body 24 extends with its upper end above the water level and is approximately on the same plane with the bottom edge of the breaker plates ll.

As the frusto-conical body 24 is made to revolve the water and the ore carried by the water climb upwardly on the inside as indicated by the arrows, andare violently discharged against the .breakerpiates. After impact the water and the partly disintegrated ore return to the body of the water and are taken up again to pass through the frusto-conical body in a continuous circuit.

The impact with the breaker plates causes the ore to be broken up and while the ore gravitates through the water the fines are separated from the coarser particles and the lighter fines are floated off through the openings 11, passing underneath the sleeve 9. The coarser particles remain in the circuit and are discharged against the breaker plates repeatedly until they are small enough to pass off as fines. In the meantime the fines of higher specific gravity or concentrates gravitate downward toward the bottom of the tank as soon as they are liberated from the ore and collect at the bottom.

In connection with the bottom of the tank I provide a means for causing the concentrates to be discharged from the bottom in continuous operation. For this purpose I provide a strainer 30 on top of which I place a certain amount of shot indicated at 3|, while below the strainer I provide a funnel '32 having a flexible connection .33 with the tank and having suitable means for reciprocating the same. My preferred means for this purpose is atoggle joint including two sets of links 34 and 35, the former being pivoted to the funnel as shown at 36, and the latter to the base as shown at 31, and the two sets of links being interconnected by the pivots 38. The latter are made to reciprocate horizontally by the arms 39 driven by eccentrics 40. As the arms 39 reciprocate horizontally the funnel 32 reciprocates vertically and thereby causes the water in the lower portion of the tank to pulsate back and forth for causing the ore concentrates of a predetermined degree of fineness to work through the bed of shot and the strainer and to be discharged upon the launders ll. Water is introduced into the funn through the pipe connection 42.

The operation of the device is as follows: The tank is filled with water to the height of the apertures l1 and water is being added continuously during the operation of the device. -The frustoconical body 24 is made to rotate at-high speed whereby the water is put into circulation in the manner indicated by the arrows in Figure l. The ore is fed into the tank and follows the course of the water and is violently discharged against the breaker plates which are mounted at the proper angle to be struck at right angles by the ore. After impact with the breaker plates the partly disintegrated ore descends, the fines of low speci flc gravity are floated off, while the coarser particles of ore are returned into the circuit for further crushing and the fines of high specific gravity or concentrates gravitate out of the circuit toward the bottom of the tank from where they are discharged upon the launders 4|. The lighter fines pass through the openings l1 into the troughs l9 and finally upon the launders 2|.

I claim:

1. In an ore reducing machine, a tank for holding water, a frusto-conical element rvolvable in the tank on a vertical axis and having upper and lower edges for drawing in water through the lower edge and for discharging the same centrifugally over the upper edge in a continuous circuit, means for feeding ore into the circuit, and a series of breaker plates mounted to encircle the upper edge of the element for disintegrating the ore discharged thereagainst.

2. In an ore reducing machine, a tank for holding water, a frustocomcal element revolvable in the tank on a vertical axis and having upper and lower edges for drawing in water through the lower edge and for discharging the same centrifugaliy over the upper edge in a conmeans for classifying the disintegrated ore into fines, coarser particles and concentrates.

3. In an ore reducer, an impact medium having a vertical impact face, centrifugal means for moving ore in a continuous circuit for repeated impact with the impact face, and hydraulic means for classifying the ore after each impact for removal of the fines comprising a tank'of water disposed underneath the impact face and having a settling area allowing concentrates to settle therein, the tank of water being disposed relative to the centrifugal means so as to cause the coarser particles to gravitate toward the latter means for further disintegration.

4. In an ore reducing machine, a tank for holding water, a frusto-conical element revolvable in the tank on a vertical axis and having upper and lower edges for drawing in water through the lower edge and for discharging the same centrifugally over the upper edge in a continuous circuit, means for feeding ore into the circuit, a series of breaker plates mounted in encircling relation to the upper edge of the element for breaking up the ore discharged thereagainst, the breaker plates being mounted above the water and having vertical impact faces so as to deliver the broken ore to the water and means for feeding water into the tank whereby the flnes are floated ofi over the edge of the tank while the concentrates contained in the ore gravitate toward the bottom of the tank, and means for continuously removing the concentrates from the tank.

5. In an ore reducing machine, a tank for holding water having a frusto-conical bottom and an outlet for the same, means for crushing ore within the tank whereby the concentrates contained in the ore are made to gravitate toward the bottom, means for floating off the fines, a strainer over the bottom of the tank, a funnel communicating with the bottom of the tank, a flexible connection between the bottom of the tank and the funnel and means for reciprocating the funnel for pulsating the water above the strainer whereby the concentrates are made to work through the strainer.

6. In an ore reducing machine, a tank for holding water having a frusto-conical bottom and an outlet for the same, means for crushing ore within the tank whereby the concentrates contained in the ore are made to gravitate toward the bottom, means for floating off the fines, a strainer over the bottom of the tank, a bed of shot on the strainer, a funnel communicating with the bottom of the tank, a flexible connection between the bottom of the tank and the funnel and means for reciprocating the funnel for pulsating the water above the strainer whereby the concentrates are made to work through the strainer.

7. In an ore reducing machine, a cylindrical breaker plates and substantially below the same and spaced from the wall of the tank, means for revolving the element for drawing water and ore through the bottom and discharging the same centrifugally over the upper edge against the breaker plates for disintegrating the ore into fines of low specific gravity, concentrates and coarser particles and for dropping the disintegrated ore into the tank outside of the frustoconical element whereby the fines are made to float on top of the water and the concentrates are made to gravitate toward the bottom while the coarser particles are again drawn into the frusto-conical element.

8. In an ore reducing machine, a cylindrical tank for holding water and having a tapered bottom, means for feeding ore into the water, an annularseries of vertically and angularly disposed breaker plates mounted within the tank and above the water, a frusto-conical element revolvable in the tank inside of the series of breaker plates and substantially below the same and spaced from the wall of the tank, means for revolving the element for drawing water and ore through the bottom and discharging the same centrifugally over the upper edge against the breaker plates for disintegrating the ore into fines of low specific gravity, concentrates and coarser particles and for dropping the disintegrated ore into the tank outside of the frusto-conical element whereby the fines are made to float on top of the water and the concentrates are made to gravitate toward the bottom while the coarser particles are again drawn into the frusto-conical element and means for floating oil the fines.

9. In an ore reducing machine, a cylindrical tank for holding water and having a tapered bottom, means for feeding ore into the water, an annular series of vertically and angularly disposed breaker plates mounted within the tank.

and above the water, a frusto-conical element revolvable in the tank inside of the series of breaker plates and substantially below the same and spaced from the wall of the tank, means for revolving the element for drawing water and ore through the bottom and discharging the same centrifugally over the upper edge against the breaker plates for disintegrating the ore into lines of low specific gravity, concentrates and coarser particles and for dropping the disintegrated ore into the tank outside of the frusto-conical element whereby the fines are made to float on top of the water and the concentrates are made to gravitate toward the bottom while the coarser particles are again drawn into the frusto-conical element, and means for continuously withdrawing the concentrates from the tank during the operation of the machine.

10. In an ore reducing machine, a tank for holding water, means for feeding ore into the water, an annular series of breaker plates mounted above the water, and centrifugal means active within the water and spaced from the bottom of the tank for drawing on the ore and water and for discharging the same against the breaker plates for disintegrating the ore so as to liberate concentrates, the plates being disposed vertically and externally of the centrifugal means for returning the disintegrated ore into the tank outside of the centrifugal means and subject to the draft thereof whereby coarser particles of the ore are reentrained in the centrifugal means, while the concentrates gravitate toward the bottom of the tank.

11. In an ore reducing machine, a tank for holding water, means for feeding ore into the water, an annular series of breaker plates mounted above the water, and centrifugal means active within thewater and spaced from the bottom of the tank for drawing on the ore and water and for discharging the same against the breaker plates for disintegrating the ore so as to liberate concentrates, the plates being disposed vertically and externally of the centrifugal means for returning the disintegrated ore into the tank outside of the centrifugal means and subject to the draft thereof whereby coarser .particles'of the ore are reentrained in the centrifugal means, while the concentrates gravitate toward the bottom of the tank, and means for continuously withdrawing the concentrates from the bottom of the tank while the machine is in operation.

12. In an ore reducing machine, a tank for holding water, an annular series of breaker plates mounted above the water, centrifugal means within the water for circulating the water whereby the same is discharged against the breakerplates in a continuous circuit, means for feeding ore into the circuit for breaking up the ore through impact with the breaker plates, the latter being disposed vertically-so as to return the broken rock to the water, and means for floating oi! the fines obtained through the impact, the circulating means being spaced from the wall and the bottom of the tank so as to allow concentrates to gravitate along the wall toward the bottom of the tank.

13. In an ore reducing machine, a tank for holding water, an annular series of breaker plates mounted above the water, centrifugal means within the water for circulating the water whereby the same is discharged against the breaker plates in a continuous circuit, means for feeding ore into the circuit for breaking up the ore through impact with the breaker plates, the latter being disposed vertically so as to return the broken rock to the water, and means for floating off the fines obtained through the impact, the circulating means being spaced from the wall and the bottom of the tank so as to allow concentrates to gravitate along the wall toward the bottom of the tank, and the bottom of the tank having means associated therewith for continuously removing the concentrates.

l4."In an ore reducing machine, a tank for. holding a liquid, a frusto-conical element revolvable in the tank on a vertical axis and having upper and lower edges for drawingin liquid through the lower edge and for discharging the same c'entrifugally over the upper edge, means for feeding ore into the circuit and impact means mounted to encircle the upper edge of the element for disintegrating the ore discharged thereagainst.

15. In an ore reducing machine, a tank for holding a liquid, a frusto-conical element revolvable in the tank on a vertical axis and having upper and lower edges for drawing in liquid through the lower edge and for discharging the same centriiugally over the upper edge impact members arranged adjacent the upper edge, the tankhaving means for returning the discharged liquid to the lower edge for effecting a continuous circuit and means for feeding ore directly into the tank where it will be drawn into the 'frustoconical element and discharged from the top. 

